Matt Wagner’s award-winning comic book series Grendel is being adapted into a series at Netflix. The streaming service announced they’ve greenlit the series and tapped Abubakr Ali (Power Book II: Ghost) to star as vigilante hero Grendel/Hunter Rose.
Per Netflix, Grendel “follows Hunter Rose, a gifted fencer, writer and assassin as, seeking to avenge the death of a lost love, he goes to war with New York’s criminal underworld, only to realize…why beat them, when you can join them?”
Andrew Dabb (Supernatural) is on board as writer, executive producer, and showrunner of the eight episode first season. Comic book creator Matt Wagner will be involved as an executive producer along with Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson (The Umbrella Academy, Hellboy), Keith Goldberg (The Umbrella Academy, Resident Alien), and Chris Tongue (Polar, Splinter).
“I couldn’t be more thrilled about the Grendel saga, one of the longest-running independent comics series, finally being translated into live-action for the screen,” said Wagner. “Under the sharp guidance of showrunner Andrew Dabb, our incredible creative team, sure-to-be stellar cast and Dark Horse Entertainment have teamed with Netflix to produce this provocative adaptation that will bring my characters and concepts to an all new audience and yet still provide excitement and surprises for die-hard fans. I’m especially excited to see Abubakr Ali bring the character of Grendel/Hunter Rose to life — he has the charisma, style and vital edginess that I’ve been envisioning in the role for years.”
Season one will also star Jaime Ray Newman (Dopesick) as “Jocasta Rose,” Julian Black Antelope (The Flash) as “Argent,” Madeline Zima (Californication) as “Liz Sparks,” and Kevin Corrigan (Scenes from an Empty Church) as “Barry Palumbo.” Emma Ho (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) will play “Stacy Palumbo,” Erik Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is “Teddy Ciccone,” Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive) plays “Annabelle Wright,” and Andy Mientus (The Flash) stars as “Larry Stohler.”
